Does anyone know where I can get info on Browning Recurve bows? I have a Browning Rover 60" 40# @ 28" and a Browning Wasp 56" 49# @ 28". Wanted to know when they were made and what they may be worth. I gave $50.00 a piece for them. They are both in great shape. I can't find anything on the internet.
WASP 56" 1970-1975
I have the same question. I picked up a Browning Wasp. I love the way it shoots, but I'd like to know when it was made. Will the number on it tell me that?
Get a Browning Explorer II. That is the nicest hunting bow they made.
I own a 30# Browning Spartan which technically is my grandsons' bow but I shoot it once in a while. It's a fine shooting bow.
I thought the Explorer II was a compound bow. Because I have one. Bought it new in 1983.
Browning later used the recurve names for compound bows. Here is a pic of some browning bows, see the Explorer I, it is the same as the explorer II, only it is 56" and the explorer II was 62".
http://***********.bowsite.com/tf/pics/00small63422547.JPG
Those Browning were some nice looking bows!How they did shoot in comparition with the Bear?
I like them over Bears actually.
I rehabbed myself from a torn elbow tendon with that 30# Browning Spartan and got addicted to shooting it. It is a sweet shooter and I shot it in quite a few 3-d rounds. With light arrows trajectory was similar to a hunting bow.
So Horney it means that you are going to sell me your Type1?
Those takedowns I have both have custom Schafer limbs Felix. I love em both!
I have a Nomad 2 and a Wasp. Great fun, these bows.
I have a Browning Prep recuve 62"50@28 shoots great. It's all Maple riser and limbs with glass. any info would be nice. Thanks jon
I have a mint Browning "Cobra". It is a 50" bow that is 51# @28. I bought it from the original owner several years ago. Can anyone tell me anything about this one. the serial # is 9N3230.
I believe the cobra was made in 1969. They also made a Cobra I in 1970-75.
Thanks Mr Horney Toad. The bow is mint and I may sell it because I like Bear Bows. I have no clue what to ask for it though.
I'd say about $125.
I don't have enough posts here to list it but if anyone wants it just pm me. I have a pile of wall hangers (non Bear Bows) I would trade for a nice Bear or two...
I have Bears, Wings and Brownings. I have a 50# Browning Safari II I prefer to all of them. Pulls like 45 shoots like 55 flat and right on the mark. Dead in the hand and has a nice high grip and just the right heft.
sam
The safari II is a great shooting bow Sam. They are smooth shooters.
The Browning Wasps I remeber were in the 80s, I think. Dark green riser and black limbs. Anybody remember those?
The info I have says the 56" Wasp was made 1970-1975. All the Browning bows I have seen have a nice finish.
Quality items just like you would expect from a Browning rifle or shotgun.
Who was their bowyer?
Hi, I have two Browning recurves. One is a Nomad II serial number OE927.2
The other is a Explorer II serial number 7D1114.
They both shoot great. I am shooting Explorer II now.
My question is, does someone know the year they were made? And when did Browning start making recurve bows and when did they stop? Any help would be appreciated.
I have been watching this site for a couple of years and going to 3-D shoots and enjoying the education.
I gave my son a Browning Mohawk 54" amo 40# serial # is 4k1586. Any info on this bow? Year?
It's a good shooting bow.
Thanks Jeff
Some folks think that the Brownings were made under contract by some other big name bow companies, but they were actually made by Browning, in Morgan, Utah.
Harry Drake was a bowyer and designer for Browning for many years, and was a master of limb design.
I have a 56"/56# Wasp on the rack and it is quite a shooter.
The info I have on NOMAD II 60" is 1966-1975.
The Explorer II 62" is 1967-71.
I believe Browning dated their bows in the late 60s like Bear did, thus 7 being a 1967.
I have a Browning Nomad Stalker that I bought New in about 1971 or 72. Killed my first archery buck with it. It is 60# at 28 in. Bought another one just like it from a friend a couple years ago except it is 45#. Use it for bowfishing. They seem to be well made bows and shoot good too.
In 1967; the archery division of Browning was located in San Diego California. Not sure about the Utah facility, if it was pre or post Sn Diego. Bow and Arrow magazine did a feature article back in 1967 about Browning recurves, and had the Explorer 2 on the cover. If I could figure out how to post photos here, I would post a picture of both my bow and the Bow and Arrow magazine I speak of.
The facility built some of the best looking and most rugged recurve bows ever constructed in modern times.
I have a Browning Explorer 2 @ #48 that I refurbished, and it is a wicked sweet shooting bow, as good if not superior to both Bears and Pearsons of the same era.
I still shoot my Browning Safari, I might just hunt bear with it this May!
I've got a couple of older Brownings that I would part with. Can I list them here or should I go to the classifieds? I don't want to rock the boat. Also got decal Wings and a Howatt Diablo Eldorado.
I picked up a Browning Safari I last week in a package deal with ten other bows. It is 49# and 54" AMO. What a sweet shooting little bow!
I just met Jack for the first time today. He was kind enough to let me shoot his new Safari. This was the first Browning I ever shot. I don't think it will be my last. That bow is a real nice shooting bow and I will be watching for them now.
Harry Drake was an archery legend long before he became head bowyer for Browning. He still holds many flight shooting records as well as being a champion field and target archer.
The best Browning bow? Explorer II
I have a Safari II 50#. It's a beauty. They tend to be "hefty" just like most of Browning's products. They have a lot of curve to them and seem to be faster than comparable bows of the same weight including Wings and Bears. Shoot very straight,fast and flat.
Sam
I use to shoot Brownings back in the late 60's and early 70's. They quit making their recurves not to long after the compound bow came on the scene. My wife's cousin had a bow shop in Piqua, Ohio and I got all my supplies and bows from him. He did not want to handle compounds so when Browning quit making recurves he quit selling bows. He would only handle Browning. I believe it was in 1976 when he quit selling bows and stayed with bow supplies and fishing tackle.
I had a browning fire drake take down, loved it but sold it to a friend and cant get him to turn loose of it, maybe some day I'll find another one.
I bought a Wasp--new-- in about 1980, for $50. It was 45#@28" and 56" AMO. About on a par with a Grizzly, as I recall, maybe a little quicker.
I bought a Wasp--new--for around $50 in the late 1970s. It was on a par with the Grizzly, as I recall, but a little less stable, a little quicker. 45#@28, 56" AMO.
I have a 52" Nomad Stalker,54" Safari I,56" Wasp,and a 58" Nomad Stalker II,and a 50" Cobra I...all great shooting bows
I might be picking up a Browning recurve this friday for Bowfishing. I will let you know how it performs. Since the guy didnt know what type it was I offered $50.00 if the bow is in good working condition.
Hope its worth the drive :cool:
Definitely if it's still a shooter.
Have a '67 Explorer II headed my way and am looking forward to shooting it. Have had shorter Brownings and they shot well but thought a longer amo would work with my draw length better.
Humm! Wonder what thatbow might be! :)
Good choice Tom, the Explorer II is my favorite one. Shoots and looks great.
Kelly-
Any suggestions for a brace height for the Explorer? Thanks.
I'd start at 7" and work up from there. My other Brownings do real well with low brace heights.
I have 6 Brownings and they all shoot pretty well around 7 1/2"-7 7/8"
Thanks for the reply, gents. Will start at 7.5 and go higher or lower to see which the bow likes. Appreciate the quick answers.
I talked to a guy thru **** a few years ago that had a couple of Browning Cobra handle sections for sale. They were just the handle sections that had been glued up before the limbs were attached. He said he used to work at a small airport near San Diego, CA and the Browning bow factory was next door. He dug the handle sections out of the trash and kept them since the wood was so pretty.
Just picked up a Browning Cobra II today and a Bear Kodiak Paid 50 bucks each for tehm.
I may give the guy a few more bucks as I feel it was a steal and he has a little one at home.
Wow, someone was digging throught some history, lol. good thread though, you have got to love the old brownings
Dang, Toad...That picture you posted looks like my Browning collection except that I don't have the Wasp and the Spartan. Nice bows.
For me anyway, back in the day we would not have anything to do with Browning bows because we did not want bows made by a Firearms company. We wanted bows made by Bow companies. Boy has time proven us wrong. We did not realize that the browning bows were designed by Harry Drake. They have really stood the test of time and proven to be quality bows. Great shooters too.
Yeah, I was digging, trying to research the bows I picked up today.
(http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m637/cjohntalk/Bow%20Pictures/1302131310.jpg)
(http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m637/cjohntalk/Bow%20Pictures/1302131312.jpg)
(http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m637/cjohntalk/Bow%20Pictures/1302131308.jpg)
I have shot a couple of Brownings and they were very nice.
Anyone have any recommendations on a Browning at 60" or longer designed to be shot off the shelf? The ones I have seen at 60" or longer had highly curved shelves and looked to be designed for elevated rests.
Tks!
the ones with the curved shelves still work well for shooting off the shelf.